On a roll again

The times when only Los Angeles, Chicago and Yokohama developed more dynamically than Łódź will probably never come back. Today, however, the city's ambition is not to race against the whole world, but to make those who left Łódź in search of a better job return. How to convince them that the most difficult years are behind Łódź and we are on a roll again?

When unemployment in Łódź reached 21.3% in 1993, the city had to “reinvent” itself. There was no simple recipe for that and no shortcut. It was only at the beginning of the 21 st century that Łódź started to rediscover its economic potential. The development of home appliances, logistics and transport industries allowed Łódź to return to the top of Polish cities. Today, when the unemployment rate in Łódź does not exceed 5%, the third largest city in Poland in terms of population (approx. 690,000 people) is gradually transforming into a service centre for business. 23,200 people already work in the BPO, SSC/GBS, IT and R&D centres located in Łódź, which means that Łódź is the fifth largest labour market for these sectors in Poland. In the face of such changes, it is worth asking a question about the possibility of returning to the local labour market of former and current Łódź citizens who found employment in other cities in Poland. Deloitte looked into the problem and conducted a survey among graduates of Łódź univer sities living outside Łódź. As many as 64% of the respondents were open to taking up employment in Łódź provided that they were given satisfactory financial work conditions. What does it mean? 8% of the respondents indicated the lowest salary between PLN 3,500 and 5,000 gross monthly. 13% of the respondents would like to earn between PLN 5,000 and 8,000 gross per month; the most numerous group (42%) replied that a salary between PLN 8,000 and 15,000 gross per month would be appealing to them, and 37% answered that an attractive salary is not less than PLN 15,000 gross per month.

one thing: you live well in Łódź, not too expensive, conveniently – convinces the Mayor of Łódź Hanna Zdanowska in an interview for Outsourcing&More.

Such aspirations are already being met in many industries in Łódź. The salaries of specialists, project and team leaders or executives are in line with the expectations of Deloitte survey participants. Remuneration in BPO, SSC or IT does not differ from the salaries offered in other cities, including in Warsaw. The challenge remains... stereotypes. The majority of the respondents perceive salaries in Łódź as less attractive than they are in reality, and at least 22% think that the unemployment rate in the city is higher than the actual one. Perhaps that is why 57% of the respondents when asked whether they had looked for job offers in Łódź in the last year replied that they had not.

Thus, the local authorities face the challenge of overcoming the stereotype, which is increasingly less connected with the reality that people earn much less in Łódź than in other major Polish cities, emphasizing at the same time the high purchasing power of money in comparison with e.g. Warsaw. The real estate market may be the most illustrative example, especially for young people converting dormitories into rented flats and planning to buy their own apartment in a few years' time. In Warsaw, you have to pay about PLN 1,200 more for renting an apartment of between 40 and 60 square metres than in Łódź. It is also more expen sive to buy a flat in the capital city (on the primary market by an average of over PLN 3,000 per square metre). – On the map of Poland and Europe, Łódź is one of the best places for busi ness development in terms of the ratio of wages to quality of life. When you compare these two factors one can say What is also important for employees is the transformation that is taking place in the city. Urban renewal, the New Centre of Łódź, organization of EXPO Horticultural 2024 – all these elements, in the opinion of those surveyed by Deloitte who follow such activities, may have an impact on the decision to return to Łódź. However, the awareness of the respondents who do not live in the city is not very high. The percentage of people declaring their knowledge of the current progress of work does not exceed a dozen or so percent, so it is an important task for Łódź to ensure that the largescale renewal of the city centre and other activities changing the face of the city are noticed by those who left Łódź for various reasons but do not exclude return. More information:

Business Development and International Relations Bureau Piotrkowska 104a Street, 90-926 Lodz Phone: +48 42 638 59 39 Fax: +48 42 638 59 40 e-mail: boi@uml.lodz.pl

What about the citizens of Łódź who work in Warsaw and endure the hardships of travelling between these cities every day? The Deloitte survey (direct surveys in Łódź-Warsaw trains among citizens of Łódź working in the capital of Poland) shows that the fragmentation of industries in which the respondents find employment is large, but employees of consulting companies, law firms, advertising and PR agencies (almost 20%), financial institutions (nearly 16%), as well as IT and telecommunications companies (almost 15%) prevail. Employees of shared services and outsourcing centres account for about 6%. 2/3 of all the respondents consider changing their place of employment if they find an adequately attractive offer in Łódź, and 3/4 of those surveyed are willing to change their industry. 65% of those asked are not considering moving to Warsaw at the moment. The direction of changes in Łódź makes people want to work and live in this city, and those who have left for various reasons are ready to return. – In modern economies, cities compete not only for foreign investors but also for citi zens – potential employees. We can only attract them by creating good living conditions, providing better cultural and sporting offers, as well as a broadly defined leisure time – says the Mayor of Łódź for Outsourcing&More. Łódź has everything to be successful – its location in the centre of Poland, an agglomeration of about a million people, high quality universities and efficient local government. – In the past, the inhabitants of Łódź did not believe in their own strengths. Now, thanks to the changes, they have started to be proud of their city again – concludes Hanna Zdanowska.